CLEVELAND – For the first time in medical history, Bahman Guyuron, MD, Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, and an internationally recognized leader in the field of plastic surgery, and his team of neurologists will be conducting a live surgical demonstration as the first ever instructional course on a new surgical treatment for migraine headaches.
The symposium will take place at University Hospitals Case Medical Center on Saturday, October 28. Plastic surgeons and neurologists from across the country will participate in the course hosted and moderated by Dr. Guyuron who will be teaching his revolutionary techniques for the first time ever.
At the conclusion of the symposium, participants in the course will be able to identify the symptoms and diagnosis of migraine headaches with emphasis on involvement of a neurologist as a team member as well as recognizing symptoms that aid in identifying the migraine trigger site. Additionally, participants will be able to distinguish the use of Botox injections as a prognosticator and treatment modality and manage any adverse effects from the procedure.
The symposium will begin at 8 a.m. and shortly after a noon lunch break, Dr. Guyuron will perform surgery on a 48-year-old female patient from Tennessee at 1 p.m. The surgery will be simulcast to participants located off site on the University Hospitals Case Medical Center campus.
“Migraine headaches are extremely disabling and this new surgical option offers hope for migraine sufferers,” says Dr. Guyuron, who is also Professor of Plastic Surgery at Case Western Reserve University. “The data from his multiple studies have provided strong evidence that severe migraine headaches can be successfully treated with surgery.”
It is estimated that more than 28 million people in the United States suffer from migraine headaches, with women afflicted most frequently. In many cases, migraine medications cause disturbing side effects such as weight gain and fatigue or are simply ineffective.
The impetus behind Dr. Guyuron’s migraine headache research was his observation more than six years ago that many patients who had undergone forehead rejuvenation surgery that involved removal of a muscle responsible for frowning noticed a disappearance in migraine symptoms following surgery. He has since discovered additional trigger sites and developed surgical techniques to deactivate these trigger sites.
For patients who suffer frontal migraine headaches, Dr. Guyuron removes the corrugator supercilii muscle in the forehead that is suspected to be a trigger point for headaches, compressing nerves and causing nerve inflammation that triggers migraine headaches. For those patients with temple migraine headaches, a small branch of the trigeminal nerve is removed. For those patients who suffer from occipital (lower back of the head) headaches, a small piece of muscle encasing the nerve is removed. When the headaches are located behind eyes and are triggered by weather change, he works on the nose septum and surrounding structures. Dr. Guyruon has performed over 700 of these procedures.
The Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has designated the education activity for a maximum of 8.0 credits toward student’s CME’s.